Tinga (1974-)Thangka Innovator.docVIP

Tinga (1974-)Thangka Innovator 　　Tibetan people produce abundant cultural and artistic works sated with ethnic flavor， and thangkas are clearly some of the most popular examples. Traditionally， thangka art is Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton， or silk appliqué， usually depicting a Buddhist deity or scene. With a history of more than 1，300 years， thangka art has gradually resulted in multiple schools with unique features， of which Manniang， ChenZher， and Karzhi are particularly strong standouts. 　　Born in May 1974， Tinga began to study the Karzhi School from his uncle in 1982. His uncle is Karma Delek， the 28th generation successor of the Karzhi School. Greatly influenced by Han painting， the Karzhi School features a vivid style and elegant colors. However， training to compose such gorgeous paintings is unbelievably tedious. Every day， Tinga started early in the morning and only stopped after night fell， usually more than 12 hours later. Moreover， since thangka features strong religious colors， Tinga spent his nights reading books on Tibetan Buddhism and studying sutras to deepen understandings. In general， studying thangka starts with traditional ink drawing followed by brush techniques and then studies of the proportions of different Buddhist figures. Beginners first learn by copying a close-up portrait of Buddha， an endeavor that can last up to two years. After eight years of systematic training， Tinga finished his apprenticeship and was approved to produce large-scale murals and thangkas on his own. 　　Soon， Tinga was receiving invitations from 13 monasteries all over Tibet to paint thangkas and murals for them， including the renowned Karma Monastery in Qamdo. For thangka painters， traveling to paint for monasteries is considered a great honor. But such travels were not easy in 1990s， when local transit remained undeveloped. Still， Tinga took the opportunity to embark on a special decade-long pilgrimage. He toured every monastery in Tibet and many Tibetan